Saturday, June 17, 2023
The risks of summer verge strimming
I’d like to bring up the subject of verge strimming, stimulated by the extremely vulnerable Bee Orchid, Ophrys apifera, I spotted today beside the viewing platform path near Tern Hide.
In this particular case the spike was quite short and was not damaged, but most Bee Orchids are taller and it would have been damaged by the strimmer. Admittedly, they are not easy to see.
Question: is strimming during the summer months of June and July entirely necessary? I understand that path-side brambles and nettles need to be controlled — but flat, grassy areas?
As an example of the damage that can be done, the strimming of a healthy colony of another Orchid, Broad-leaved Helleborine, along the eastern Ellingham footpath during late June 2022 is a grievous memory for me. The species is mainly green, but there was general knowledge of the plants’ presence among staff at the time.
This year I hope that any strimming of the Ellingham path grass verges is delayed until after the orchids have set seed. Hopefully the policy will also be considered in other areas of the reserve.
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I cut the brambles to the left of the viewing platform path Nigel. The sole reason was to give the bee orchids a chance to re-establish. It was a very light trim for now but more will be done later in the year.
ReplyDeleteThanks Pete. I did notice the light touch, but I thought it was more by luck that intention! Keep up the good work!
DeleteHi Nigel, thanks for blogging. Could I please ask that you include the times you did your wardening between at the start of the post so we can keep track of volunteer hours.
ReplyDeleteWith regards to path cutting, encroaching vegetation needs to be cut back at this time of year to maintain access (minimum of 1.2m for mobility scooters with space to pass). We have over 8km of paths to maintain and it is necessary to mow some of these areas or the vegetation would get away from us. However of course we do not want to impact any notable species, so please do share the locations of orchids, helleborines and other species of interest with reserve staff and volunteers so they can be avoided (the blog is the perfect place for this). We only cut what is necessary at this time of year with the majority of vegetation management works saved for the winter months to avoid the flowering season and nesting birds.
As a side note, we have recorded a good number of bee orchids on Ibsley Water shoreline again this summer however they do appear stunted, likely a result of the well-drained soil and lack of rainfall we've experienced over the last month.
Thanks
Hi Jack,
DeleteThanks for the extended response. Our wardening hours are between 10am and 13.30 on Satudays.
Regarding my strimming query, thanks for enlightening me on the path clearance policy and the sensitivity applied. During my next shift I will get an exact location for the Helleborines and post it here.
Thanks again.